The seat of power

The Thistle Green Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 up for grabs at Shannons' Melbourne International Motor Show Auction has more than just the usual service history.

It has, in fact, a history of service in the role of personal transport for current President of the Hawthorn Football Club and the last Liberal Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett.

Kennett has owned the car for the past 28 years, having acquired it when he was a relatively green backbencher (in the sense of a novice MP, rather than any other connotation), in the Victorian Parliament.

Before its current owner, the big S-Class was owned by Lanes Motors dealer principal Gordon Newton, who provided the vehicle as a means of getting to and fro for famed Grand Prix drivers, Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss in 1978.

The five-time world champion and Moss were both in Australia that year for the 'Tribute to Fangio' race meeting at Sandown. At the time, both drivers availed themselves of the 450SEL 6.9 to impress motoring journalists on country 'cruises' in the proximity of the historic Emu Bottom Homestead, near Sunbury.

Built on the W116 platform, the 450SEL was nominally a car equipped with a 4.5-litre V8, specified to SE level, on a long wheelbase. However, this particular car is one of 7380 units fitted with the larger 6.9-litre V8 -- an engine that developed 213kW of power and 550Nm of torque in its prime.

"As a young man I had always wanted to own a top of the range Mercedes-Benz", Kennett says. "It was a very powerful car and I thoroughly enjoyed driving it!"

The former Premier bought the car when it was just one year old and showed 4500km on the odometer. In 2008, the odometer has recorded 135,000km and has been brought back to what Shannons describes as "peak condition".

The auction house anticipates the Mercedes will fetch between $18,000 and $26,000 at the Melbourne Motor Show event on March 10, held at -- where else? -- the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, AKA "Jeff's Shed".

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